


I See The Real You

by RaevynNocturne



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-06
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-19 05:27:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29869821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RaevynNocturne/pseuds/RaevynNocturne
Summary: You've been at his side for many years, through several regenerations. He's turned to you for friendship and comfort. But can you help him when he's at his lowest? Can you lift his spirits enough to help him move on? To help him regen?
Kudos: 1





	I See The Real You

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: This is similar to "Rebound", but only in a strictly friendship form. After listening to "The Real You", by Three Days Grace, I decided to use the lyrics as a story telling device, exactly like "I Wasn't Looking For You" story. While I'd normally use the 12th Doctor, I decided to skip ahead to the as yet unknown 14th Doctor, and refer to them as he.

You remember the first time you met the Doctor: you were actually good friends with Rose, and because of that, and your love of sci-fi, she introduced you to him. You knew the love she had for him, and you could see the love he had for her. You comforted Rose when he changed, and you met his new face. 

"I will never give up on you,  
I see the real you.  
Even if you don't, I do, I do.  
I will never give up on you,  
I see the real you.  
Even if you don't, I do, I do."

You remember when he came to you, crying, and told you that Rose was gone; not dead, but in an alternate universe. You held him, and he held you, as you both cried for your loss. He told you all the stories Rose hadn't, and you laughed and gasped in shock. You gave him the friendship he needed, the shoulder to cry on.

He brought his new companion to meet you, Martha, and you got along well with her; you even kept up with her after she left the Doctor.

He brought Donna to meet you, although you didn't get along as well with her, you were still friendly. 

You held him when he wept for what he had to do to Donna, wipe her memory. He said a final goodbye to you before he changed.

When next you met him, he looked younger, and wore a bowtie. You liked this one best, because he liked to smile. He introduced Amy to you, and she introduced you to Rory. You loved Amy, her spirited ways, and loved hearing their stories. 

You consoled Amy, and the Doctor, during their times. You mourned with the Doctor when he told you that Amy and Rory had been sent back on time. You ached with him, feeling their losses deeply, too. You still talked to Martha, and she sympathized with you.

Then he brought you Clara, and you couldn't bond as strongly with her; she was a little too bossy for your taste, like Donna. But she was sweet, and you got along with her. It was her you comforted at Christmas, when she called you, knowing you had become one of his closest friends. She told you he'd left her behind, so you held her as she cried. You waved goodbye when she hung onto the outside of the TARDIS.

When next you saw him, he had aged, hair silvery gray and curly, and he was almost the opposite of the young man with the bowtie. Clara even seemed to be unsure of this new face.

"And I'll show you the road to follow,  
I'll keep you safe until tomorrow.  
I'll pull you away from the sorrow.  
I see the real you,  
Even if you don't, I do."

Slowly you warm up to the new face, and he isn't so hard anymore. But you start to see something that worries you, that makes you feel like your blood has turned to ice: fanatical devotion. At first it was only from the Doctor, but you started to see it from her. You knew about Clara trying to date Danny Pink, and how badly she handled it all, rushing about with the Doctor. You learned about how the Doctor left her behind, forcing her to make a horrible choice, and you felt rooted in the spot. You knew the bowtie face could be cold, even cruel when need be, but to hear that this one was so cruel, it hurt you deeply. 

Then you learned about Danny's death, and you felt bad for her; but when the Doctor himself told you what she did, you stopped talking to her. You refused to talk to someone who would emotionally blackmail one who was supposed to be a friend. And you wept, in private, when he told you that he helped her, because he loved her; you feared that that love would destroy him.

You felt no pity when you learned of Clara's death, but when you finally caught back up with your friend, you honestly felt awful for him; you may have hated Clara for hurting your friend, but you promised him you'd always support him, no matter what.

"If you're the one to run, to run,  
I'll be the one you run to.  
If you're the one to run, to run,  
I'll be the one you run to."

You held him after Darillium, knowing how much he actually did love River Song, and much that trip had hurt him. You knew about his first family, on Gallifrey, and the various people he married over the centuries, but River was one of the few he truly loved; you knew Clara was on that list, and you secretly hated that.

He brought Nardole to meet you, and you honestly weren't sure how to take him, but he was always nice to you, so you were nice to him. Then you met Bill Potts, and again found another true friend. 

You spent time with them, more often just Bill and the Doctor, but you loved their stories. You even attended his lectures, just because you could; once he loosened up around you, you found you loved his voice, and accent.

You shared in the horror of the space station they'd visited with Bill, and the sorrow at the Doctor's sacrifice. It made his increased visits a little worrisome, as though he knows something you don't. You teased him about his sunglasses, and he let you wear them; you teased him endlessly about his browser history.

You held Bill after the Monks invaded, and took over; when you learned of the Doctor's blindness, it puts his visits into new perspective. You kept in contact with her during their rule, careful to protect yourselves from the mind police. You celebrated when the Monks were sent packing, and you comforted the Doctor when he came to you again, feeling the weight of his age upon him.

You didn't hear from the Doctor for a while after that, and by then he had regened into a woman; you mourned the Scotsman you'd grown to love as deeply as you'd loved Rose. You held each other when she told you about Bill, and your heart ached; you know her two hearts burned too.

"It seems like I've known you forever,  
I'll keep you sane for one more night,  
Need you to know it's alright,  
I see the real you,  
Even if you don't, I do,  
(I do)."

When next she came to you, she was broken, having lost her companions, her "Fam", and didn't want to be alone. You see the golden glow in her hands, and she departs, saying she must do this alone. She smiles, kisses your cheek, and departs.

Then, a slightly older man arrives, and hugs you, holds you, and cries. You know it's the Doctor, but the broken man you hold is enough to break your heart. You talk for hours, and he tells you more of his past, the faces from before the Time War. He tells you of all the people he's lost; companions who have left, or died, the countless dead from wars. He tells you the truth about his Scottish face, about trying to avoid the change, to just die, because of his pain. He tells you that the only reason he regened after the female was because of you.

"If you're the one to run, to run,  
I'll be the one you run to.  
You're not the only lonely one,  
I see the real you,  
Even if you don't, I do,  
I do, I do."

You hold him, comfort him, let him unburden himself, knowing he needs at least one person he can trust you unburden himself to. You play "The Real You" by Three Days Grace for him, telling him he needed to hear it, because it spoke to you. He cried into your shoulder again, and did something you never expected:

"I love you" he whispers in your ear, then places a single, soft kiss on your lips. You know it's not romantic, but he knows no other way to show you how much you mean to him. He secretly wishes you were a Time Lord too, so that you could stay friends for centuries; he dreaded the day he looses you too.

"I see the REAL you, my dear, beloved friend," you whisper back, and you know in your soul that it's true; the scared man who ran so long ago, to the man who unburdened himself. 

You know he'll survive; he won't ever be ok, but he won't fall into the black depths of despair you've seen him get close to, with only you to pull him back. You will be here for him, so that he can be there for everyone. That is the real Doctor.


End file.
